December 2014

The New Year’s Resolution

…is it still relevant?

By Apolinario Villalobos

When I was young, the tradition of coming up with a list of promises that constitute the New Year’s resolution was not observed in our family. While growing up, it has become part of my consciousness because of my changing environment. My teachers in elementary and high school would ask us about our New Year’s resolution, as some kind of a theme requirement. I would then list down magnificently-sounding promises, complete with reasons why I made them. My objective was to get a good mark, which I did. I even remember working on the New Year’s resolution of my classmate in exchange for a new pad of intermediate paper, and as expected he got a good mark, too.

Today, coming up with a list of promises is still being done by others. They cannot be blamed because, such practice has become synonymous with the onset of New Year. It is actually part of the packaged season of Yule that includes Christmas. But, is it still relevant?

In my experience, nothing of my listed promises was ever fulfilled. In the past, sometimes I even forgot that I made one. It made me ponder why I should go on coming up with a list of promises that I can never fulfil. Also, I do not want to justify my act with another adage that says, promises are made to be broken. As I do not want to feel guilty, I have finally decided to just live by the day, although with set goals that could prod me on.

My observation is that, coming up with a New Year’s resolution, is like wishing to shed off unwanted fat, but still go on a fast food binge after workouts. A health expert came up with the word “moderate”, meaning, there is nothing wrong with going to a fast food joint after a couple of hour’s work- out but moderation must be observed.

Applying the “moderation” to the undying fad of coming up with New Year’s resolution, it could mean, being “realistic” in coming up with a list of promises. Most of us forgot that the list is some kind of a reminder to guide us in our daily life. So, with that, it may not be irrelevant after all.

But we should not wait for the onset of the New Year to be reminded of what we are supposed to do to improve our life. And most especially, we should not come up with a list that pertains to the life of others in our effort to copy their personality as others are inclined to do. Let us be ourselves…not like somebody else.

Olive’s Life…a story of love and compassion

(for Olive Asong)

By Apolinario Villalobos

Here’s a story that I hope will open the eyes and mind of those who claim to be Catholic but whose acts are wanting of its essence.

The first time I saw her was when she was just about four years old in the care of his father who diligently and lovingly attended to her needs as a growing child. Her mother left them to work abroad. She practically grew up till her teen-aged years with her father by her side, as her mother came home only when her “schedule would permit”, being a pianist in music lounges.

Loneliness drove her father to find intimate relationship with other women. Despite the “un-Christian” ways of her father in the eyes of the devoutly Catholic, she did not condemn him. This she did to reciprocate the honesty of her father who did not hide anything from her.

When her parents parted ways, she maintained her compassionate understanding of her father’s ways until the latter got sick beyond recuperation. She practically shed tears and humbly implored her mother to reconnect with her father. When finally, forgiveness was uttered by her mother, she unabashedly announced it to the world to let go of the overpowering emotion in her heart.

Not only did she reconnected her father to her mother, but she also gave recognition to her “other” siblings that they deserve. She lovingly refers to them as her “extended family”. In the company of her stepmother, she brought the remains of her father to his hometown for internment. In front of relatives, she announced her unconditional love to her stepmother and her half-sister. Her act was followed by the rest – relatives and friends who welcomed her “extended family”.

Unconsciously, Olive did what the people’s pope, Francis, has been asking for the whole Christian flock to do – be compassionate to others and love them unconditionally.

Olive is a baptized Catholic, the essence of which is Universal. In my simple understanding, one can only be one, if he takes down the walls of hypocrisy around him. To love like a Catholic means having no borders around…without laying down conditions. Questions should never be asked before a Catholic extends a hand of compassion to others. A Catholic should never ask a hungry stranger if he is also a Catholic before a few coins can be given to him. And, a Catholic should never ask somebody if he has sinned before he can become a friend!

What Olive did is more than what the people’s pope, Francis has been asking his flock to do….

Angelica

(for Gelic Secades)

By Apolinario Villalobos

I can never get tired of writing stories of struggling people as I know that by doing so, they can inspire others. One of these is the story of Angelica or Gelic to friends and family. Growing up in a home that lacks even a thin swab of luxury, she did not experience a pampering love which her playmates experienced from their parents. But for her, to have loving parents and a younger sibling to play with was more than enough.

She had her dreams of working abroad but financial difficulties denied her such opportunity. After her unsuccessful marriage got shattered, she decided to bring her son up without help from her estranged husband. Just like other single moms, she did her best by making do with available jobs until she finally found one that fit her qualifications as a nurse. Fortunately, her son grew up with a responsible mind coupled with determined effort to be serious with his studies. Her son understood that her salary is barely enough to make both ends meet, so to speak. He therefore, endeavoured to study hard to earn credits  for tuition discounts.

A lot of sacrifice was done by both the mother and son by scrimping on expenses for the unnecessary “luxuries” – things that a growing child needs. The best time for bonding for them was on weekends when Gelic’s son has no classes, and he would spend the whole day at her workplace, poring over textbooks and work on his assignments. From the office, the two would kill time by window shopping in a nearby mall followed by a shared cheap snack.

No words were uttered by Gelic to her son when she made a resolution that all her life, she will work for his sake. No word was also mumbled by her son as a promise that he will do his best to excel in his studies. Actions were enough for them to understand each other’s purpose. No conditions were asked by them from each other, in exchange for the unspoken promises. For more than ten years, this kind of unconditional love between mother and son went on. Gelic sacrificed her own love life by not entertaining suitors. Her son likewise did not squander precious time in the company of buddies, but instead, preferred to stay home to study.

Through high school, Gelic’s son did not complain when he was made to bring cooked food to school instead of pocket money for recess and lunch breaks. He rarely got hold of cold cash. Birthdays are celebrated with a home-cooked extra viand and Christmas present is limited to the most minimally-priced item from bargain counters. Their way of life is characterized by scrimping to the maximum to be able to survive decently.

Gelic’s son will be graduating from college in a year’s time. Looking ahead to the sweet fulfilment of her dream, she could only profusely thank the Lord that the constant guidance she always pray for, has been lighting their way as they struggled on. Gelic did not waver in showing her faith despite the emotionally devastating challenges that almost shattered her life. She has survived with her son, proving that strong faith can indeed, save us from utter misery.

The Library, Books, and Museum

In the Philippines

By Apolinario Villalobos

The library and museum are the brain and heart of a community, be it a village, town, city, province or a nation. While the library is the repository of books for the acquisition of knowledge, the museum is for the culture and history of the people.

History can attest that even pre-Biblical peoples took pains in recording snatches of stories, songs, legal transactions, medical instructions, etc. on slabs of stones, papyrus, shards of potteries and animal skins to be “archived”.  Alexander the Great was known for his propensity of carting back home books and records as part of his war booties. That is how the famous library of Alexandria has amassed various collections that represented different cultures. Everything was saved and even copied for perpetuity by scribes.

On the other hand, other materials, aside from records and books were hoarded in repositories, the equivalent of which today are the cultural and arts galleries - the museums. One of the measures of the greatness of the early kingdoms was the quantity of hoarded war booties in these repositories.

Today in the Philippines, school libraries maintain only books that are not beyond five years from their date of publication according to the guidelines of the Commission on Higher Education (CHeD). The books beyond such prescribed period are thrown away as they have outlived their usefulness as references. On the other hand, the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) has condoned the conversion of textbooks into workbooks with the inclusion of test questions at the end of each chapter, practically making such references non-reusable at the end of each school year, so that tons of them find their way to junk shops. This practice is a glaring commercialization of the educational system in the Philippines – a shameless manifestation of greed.  And, schools have “museums” that contain nothing but native handcrafted products. Schools that maintain these “museums” are not aware that old books from their libraries can be archived in such facilities. Obviously, their knowledge of the museum is limited to antique vases, jars, bowls, etc. – any item, except books!

If only the role of school libraries is seriously observed, old books in their custody, can then be  properly catalogued for systematic archiving.  It should be noted that there are some books that contain perpetual information. Lack of space for this purpose is not an acceptable excuse, as archiving is part of the library’s function in tandem with the school’s gallery or museum. Also, having an electronic section for references is not another acceptable excuse for discarding old books. Computer units could easily break down due to poor maintenance and intermittent power outage, leaving researchers helpless, especially during blackouts. In a third- world country like the Philippines, where the power supply is very irregular, especially in provinces, e-libraries have been proved inutile! That is why, for most schools, e-libraries are just for status symbol!...just for show!

When I had an opportunity to visit Germany for a backpacking tour with some of my mountaineering buddies, we explored its villages which are miles from cities. We were delighted to find libraries and galleries that contain books printed during the 1500s, some in early European languages. We do not find such in the Philippines as even the National Library is wanting of Filipino- authored books, how much more for historical ones. It is for this reason that Filipino scholars who do extensive research for a cultural and historical dissertation, would go to libraries in Spain and the United States where libraries that archive books about the Philippines can be found. On the other hand, in the Philippines, books printed during the 1800s are discarded by school librarians to be carted to the junk shops by junk collectors!

So now, do we ever wonder why, the intellect of the young generation of Filipinos, are so IT-dependent to the point of deterioration culturally? They see photos of sparkling white beaches of Boracay in the internet but they do not know to which province it belongs. One student when asked such question over the radio during a phoned-in quiz, answered that Boracay is in the province of Caticlan! Students see the image of the Philippine Eagle in the internet, but they do not know that it is the national bird. Some of them do not know where Camiguin is, etc., etc., etc.

Such is the unfortunate general state of the country’s repositories of the cultural and intellectual resources, as well as, the demeaning of textbooks due to greed, resulting to the deterioration of the country’s culture and educational system. Some teachers affirm my insistence that something must be done to “remedy” the situation.

But how can it be done when the agencies that are charged with responsibilities for the literary uplift of the people, are themselves replete with corruption? How can it be done when even most schools do not know what to make of their libraries to function sanely? How can the schools be effective in their role when they do not even know what archiving means? How can the country be saved from intellectual devastation with the tons of un-reusable textbooks finding their way to the junk shops at the end of each school year, leaving parents in a quandary where to find money at the start of each school year for the purchase of new set of text books?...resulting to most of them, losing heart in sending their children back to school!

Yes…to where is the insanity of our grossly corrupt educational system leading the country?

Si Tiya Iskang Madasalin

Ni Apolinario Villalobos

Sa aming bayan, nakalakhan ko na si Tiya Iska na madasalin.  Ang apelyido niya ay Peñalosa. Maliit siyang babae, may lampas balikat na buhok at maliit ang boses. Bago pumutok ang araw ay makikita siyang naglalakad ng halos isang kilometro papunta sa simbahan, may belo ang ulo. Dahil debuto siya ng Mahal na Birhen, ang kanyang puting damit ay nasisinturunan ng sutlang kulay asul na mapusyaw.

Sa misa ay nangingibabaw ang kanyang boses sa pagkanta. At kung oras na ng komunyon, siya ang unang tatayo at halos takbuhin ang harap ng altar upang unang mabigyan ng ostiya. Kung may prusisyon naman, siya ay palaging nasa unahan ng karo ng imahe ng Mahal na Birhen. Namumuno din siya sa mga nobena at pagdasal ng rosaryo. Tuwing Flores de Mayo naman, tumutulong siya sa pagturo sa mga bata ng dasal at kantang pangsimbahan. Nanghihingi din ng tinapay sa mga panaderya upang maipamigay sa mga bata.

Ang hindi ko maintindihan ay kung bakit siya nililibak, sa kabila ng kanyang mga ginagawa. Wala naman siyang ginagawang pagpapa-istaring. Ang nakikita ko sa kanya ay ang kaseryusuhan niya sa pagsamba sa Diyos, lalo na sa pagtupad sa kanyang debosyon sa Mahal na Birhen.  Isang beses ko lang siyang nakausap, at noon ay nang inalalayan ko siya papunta sa kumbento dahil nahilo. Pauwi na ako nang hapong yon galing sa klase at nakita ko siyang nakasandal sa puno ng kaimito dahil nahilo. Hindi pala nakakain ng tanghalian.

Nasa high school ako noong masubaybayan ko ang ilang yugto ng buhay ni Tiya Iska. At naalala ko siya sa panahon ngayon na kailangan ang pagbabalik-loob ng tao sa Diyos. May mga pagpipilian ang mga tao: magbalik-Islam, magpaakay tungo sa iba’t ibang sekta ng Kristiyanismo o magbagong-loob bilang Katoliko.

Kung wawariin, hindi dapat ibatay sa kinaanibang grupo o simbahan ang kabanalan o pagkamaka-Diyos ng isang tao. Maging bukal lang sa kalooban ang pagsamba at pagdasal tulad ng ginawa ni Tiya Iska, palagay ko ay maaari na. Dapat walang pagkukunwari ang pananampalataya, tulad din ng ginawa niya.

Alam kong marami pang Tiya Iska ang makikita sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo. Sila ang salamin natin sa buhay pagdating sa mga bagay na ispiritwal. Huwag tayong bulag o magmaang-maangan, bagkus ay dapat maging mapagpakumbaba sa pagtanggap ng ating mga ispiretwal na kakulangan upang mapunan natin kung ano man ang mga ito. Kung may makita tayong isang Tiya Iska sa panahon ngayon, gayahin na lang natin, huwag libakin….pasalamatan pa dapat dahil naipamukha niya sa atin ang ating mga kakulangan o kamaliang dapat baguhin.